Airplane wing lift modification



Nov. 4, 1947. E. M. LANIER AIRPLANE WING LIFT MODIFICATION Filed March 12, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 nz'er NOV. 4, E, M AIRPLANE WING LIFT MODIFICATION Filed March 12, 1943 4 Sheets-Sfieet 2 Nov. 4, 1947. E. M. LANIER 4 2,430,431

AIRPLANE WING LIFT MODIFICATIQN Filed March 12, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet s Zdwarci MQLQM/L er I I m r v 2 I clam 4 Sheets-Shet 4 Filed March 12, 1945 nier Edwara Mia Patented Nov. 4, 1947 AIRPLANE WING LIFT MODIFICATION Edward M. Lanier, Newark, N. J., assignor to Lanier Aircraft-Corporation, Bristol, Pa., a corporationof New Jersey Application March 12, 1943, Serial No. 478,932

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to means for in.- creasing the lift: and flying qualities of an airfoil and it. particularly hasfor itsobject to provide means to increase greatly the lift ofv an airplane at slow speeds. without increasing the wing. area; to provide means byvirtue. of which quicker takeoifs, faster climbs, slower landing speeds and higher topspeeds can be attained than by the present, types of planes.

More specifically, the invention hasfor an ob J'ect to improve the planesof the type disclosed in the United States-Patent to EdwardH. Lan-ier, reissued Au ust 13; 1935., Re. No. 19,665,.

Another object. of my, invention is,to provide a Plane ofthe abovementionedhan zer. t p w h eans by whi he c llulesm y bep r d d with a, top closure that can beput in, place after the plane is in, the air'when it may become desirable toclose the cellules.

A further object-isto provide, what I may. term. an artificial slip stream of air over the airfoil while the plane isatrest, during. the-take-oif and landing, which will, be; particularly valuable not y in p w ed; air raft butn liders also, as it may be set up independently of a drivin propeller.

Other objects will part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter-.-

To the attainment of theaforesaidobjects and ends, theinvention: still further resides inthe novel. details, of construction, combination and; arrangement of parts, all of whichwillbe first fully described in the following detailed description, and then be. particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being made to the 3,0'. companying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an airplane of the Lanier type hereinbefore referred, to.

Fig. 2- is a. detail section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3; is a diagrammatic view of one method of utilizing my invention.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2, one. somewhat larger scale, showing how the invention, in one of its aspects, may be applied to airfoils-having. very shallow cellules.

Fig. 5 is a view similar toFig, 4, but showing how a topfor the cellule may be employed with means to lower and. raise it as desired.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but omitting the air tubes or ducts, circular plate heaters being indicated within the cellule.

Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive are detail cross-sectional views showing different outlets for the air tubes Fig. 11 is a detailplan view of a wing having an airfoil of relatively large area and indicates several different forms of heaters that may be separately .or collectively employed.

Fig. 12 is asection of an airfoil similar to Fig. 5, showing. another modification of the top or cellule cover lifting mechanism.

Fig. 13 is asectionalview of a further modification of the invention.

Fig. 14 is. a detail plan view of a cellule showing a modified means to close the top of the same.

Fig. 15isa, section onthe line l;5,.l 5 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showinga modificationthereof;

Fig. 17, is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modification wherein the air ducts or tubes lie on the top face of the airfoil.

Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 1?, showing a modificationof the same.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like numbers, and letters of reference indicate like parts in all thefigures, listhe body of the plane, 2 the wings, 3 thecellules or vacuum chambers, and 6 the spars.

The wingshave closed bottoms, as at 4. The tops of the wings, except for the cellules, are closed as at 5,, 5?. Following the contour of. the top surfaces: of the wings and crossing the cellules are streamlinedair ducts 'l'having rearwardly direct d; outlets which may be continuousslits 2P Fig. 7, a. series of holes 25!", Fig. 8, or any other suitable shapes, and the outlets of the ducts (1, 1*, W, 1 may have the cross-sectional form of either Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9, or Fig. 10, as found most effective in practice. 7

In Fig. 2 there is indicated a heater surface 2t on the bottom of the cellule. In Fig. 5 the wall lfihas heating; elements 20'". In Fig. 6 the heating elements are individual members 20. The heating elements may be of any approved kind and of desired shape or form. In Fig. 11 three different forms of heating elements are indicated, namely: short rectangular heaters 20 long rectangular heaters 20 and individual circular heaters 211; any style or all styles may be used as found most convenient.

The fluid for creating the artificial or auxiliary air streams via the tubes or ducts 1 may be obtained in any desired way. Preferably, I provide a tank H for storing compressed air, see Figs. 3 and 16. The tank may be charged and kept charged in any suitable way, as for example by means of a motor or engine-driven compressor [3 which takes in air through an opening It in the body I and passes it through a back check valve l2 into the tank H from which it is delivered as required via a manually controlled valve l and ducts 9 and 8 to the ducts I, see Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 16, the ducts l have individual valves Ill to control th velocity of the gaseous fluid from each duct 1 so as to create a smooth high velocity flow over the entire surface.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the cellule 3 is provided with a top l6 that can be raised into place or lowered to the bottom of the cellule, or located at any desired intermediate position. This top l6 has transverse grooves l to receive the ducts l when the top is closed.

Any suitable mechanism may be provided for mounting and for raising and lowering the top I6. For example, in Fig. 5 I have, somewhat diagrammatically, shown cylinders, pivoted at l9, and having pistons (not shown) whose rods are connected to links I! that are in turn connected with the floor of the cellule (bottom of the wing) and with the top IS in such manner that when the pistons are forced out by fluid pressure in the cylinders (admitted thereto by suitable means, not shown, under control of the aviator) the links will raise the top into place, and conversely as the pistons recede the links will lower the top to the place desired.

In Fig. 12 screw jacks 23, 24 are shown for lifting and lowering the cover 16 the jacks being operated by means of a worm shaft 25 and 26, th latter extending into the body I to a convenient place for operation by the aviator.

In the modification shown in Fig. 12, 22 designates the cap strip of the bulkhead which is fixed as to position, and 39 indicates the bulkhead diagonals.

In the modification shown in Fig. 13, the cellule top l6 is hinged, as at 21, at the aft end and may be raised and lowered by a cylinder and piston device I8 or other suitable means.

In the modification shown in Figs. 14 and 15 the cellule 3 extends to the aft edge of the wing or airfoil 2 and the cover is made in two major parts, one of which embodies the aft section 5 which is hinged at 34 and is secured to a rotatable shaft which has a gear 35 meshing with a worm 36 on a shaft 31 that is operated by a hand wheel 38 located in the body of the airplane; the other part is composed of hinged shutters 28 On rods 29 which have gears 30 that mesh with worms 3| on worm shaft 32 that has a hand wheel 33 for operation by the aviator.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 and in Figs. 12 to 15 inclusive, those parts which correspond to like parts in Figs. 1 and 2 bear the same reference numerals plus the index letter a (Fig. 4) b (Fig. 5), c (Fig. 6), d (Fig. 12) e (Fig. 13), and 1' (Figs. 14 and 15), respectively. In Fig. 17 those parts which correspond to like parts in Fig. 4 bear the same reference indicia plus the prime mark. In Fig. 18 the parts which are the same as those in Fig. 16 bear the same reference indicia as in Fig. 4 plus the double prime mark, 20 indicating heaters.

It is a well known fact in aerodynamics that as the velocity of air is increased over an airfoil, the pressure on the top surface will decrease; and naturally the lower the pressure on the top of the airfoil the higher the lift will be. Lift is produced on an airfoil by the forward motion of the airplane moving through the fluid (air) and cansing a diversion of the airflow to produce a negative pressure on the top and a positive pressure on the underside of the airfoil. As the speed of the airplane increases, so does the velocity of the airflow over th airfoil. The smoother the flow,

4 the higher the velocity. The greater the velocity, the higher the lift.

In my invention lift is not totally dependent upon forward speed or motion of the airfoil moving through the air. With my invention embodied in an airplane, a considerable degree of negative pressure can be produced on top of the airfoil while the plane is at rest on the ground. This adds greatly to the quick lift of the plane as it starts over the ground and also enables the plane to land in a much smaller area than would be the case were my invention not used.

From th foregoing it may readily be seen that the result will b a plane of greater load carrying capacity, reduced takeoff and landing speeds, or smaller wings, increased speeds, etc. The boundary laye flow should be favorably influenced so as to reduce drag and increase the burble point. The speed should also be greatly increased due to the practicability of using an airfoil section with extremely low drag characteristics.

The streamlined tubes 1 may be made of steel, dural, wood-plastic, plastic, or like material. The number to be used in any given installation and the proper distances apart will be determined by tests well within the skill of the aviation engineer.

The compressed air flowing from the tubes flows the length of the chord from the front of the airfoil rearwardly, creating a negative pressure on the topside 0f the airfoil over the cellules, thereby creating suction lift according to the degree of negative pressure created. The degree of negative pressure is dependent upon the velocity of the air or gas flowing from the tube outlets. In practice it is preferable that the velocity of the fluid issuing from ducts 1 be so equalized in each jet, as to make a smooth flow moving from fore to aft of the airfoil.

By heating the air in the cellules, 0r topside of the airfoils, the molecules of air are split, thus making the air lighter. This lighter air is easier to move by suction than heavy cool air, and a faster and greater reduction of the pressure on the top side of the airfoil is the result.

If desired, the jets and heat need not be operated except for take-olfs and landings.

My invention is adaptable to all shapes and aspect ratios of wings.

The pressure to create the tube jet velocity may be made either by the use of a gas-mixing chamber and pressure valves connected to the tubes, or by using an air scoop in front f the plane, preferably at the front of the motor, or by the means hereinbefore referred to and illustrated in Fig, 3. The compressed air in the tank will allow landings to take place without the main motor running.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought that the complete construction, operation and advantages of my invention will be clear to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In an airfoil having a closed bottom face, a covered nose and an open top chamber to the rear of said nose, a set of air ducts extending across the line of flight over said chamber and having rearwardly directed outlets, a top for said chamber, and means for raising and lowering said top to effect, respectively, the opening and closing of said chamber, said top having recesses to receive said ducts When the top is in place.

2. In an airplane having a body and wings, the latter being provided on their upper sides with open top chambers each chamber extending from the nose to adjacent the trailing edges of the wings, a reservoir for compressed gaseous fluid, means for supplying the reservoir with such fluid, and manually controlled means for delivering the gaseous fluid from said reservoir in the form of a slip stream over the tops of said chambers in a fore and aft direction, said means including ducts extending across the chamber and lying in the general contour of the top faces of the Wings, said ducts having rearwardly directed outlets.

3. In an airplane having a body and wings, the latter being provided on their upper sides with open-top chambers each chamber extending from the nose to adjacent the trailing edges of the 15 wings, a reservoir for compressed gaseous fluid, means for supplying the reservoir with such fluid, and aviator-controlled means for delivering the gaseous fluid from said reservoir in the form of a slip stream over the tops of said chambers in a fore and aft direction, said means including ducts extending across the chambers and lying in the general contour of the top faces of the wings, said ducts having rearwardly directed outlets, those of one duct being directed so as to add the air stream of that duct to the air stream of the next succeeding duct.

EDWARD M. LANIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,496,733 Page June 3, 1924 1,854,043 Korner Apr. 12, 1932 1,868,832 Henter et al July 26, 1932 1,888,452 Clark Nov. 22, 1932 1,915,481 Ziegler June 27, 1933 2,041,786 Stalker May 26, 1936 2,176,904 Jackson Oct. 24, 1939 1,730,978 Lepere Oct, 8, 1929 Re. 19,665 Lanier Aug. 13, 1935 2,292,360 Brewster Aug. 11, 1942 2,334,070 Conley Nov. 9, 1943 1,918,897 Colburn July 18, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 29,364 Great Britain 1911 

